Pupils across North Ayrshire will benefit from a further £8.8 million Pupil Equity Funding from the SNP Government over this and next year, taking the total allocation to £22,050,120 since the programme began in 2017.
For the first time, Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) allocations have been confirmed for two years to provide more certainty for head teachers responding to the impact of schools temporarily closed during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
North Ayrshire Council (NAC) has been allocated a total of £4,297,771 in PEF during 2020/21 and £4,482,149 for 2021/22.
Total funding across all previous years was £13,271,190.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP said:
“Closing the poverty-related attainment gap is the defining mission of this government and that commitment will remain when we gradually exit lockdown.
“Local authorities and teachers have shown dedication and professionalism in supporting young people to ensure learning is disrupted as little as possible at this time, using flexibility to redirect PEF and wider Attainment Scotland Funding resources and support to our most disadvantaged families.
“There are countless examples, such as providing tablets to support digital learning at home, transport to enable pupils to attend hubs and supporting home-school link workers to maintain regular contact with children.
“Schools know their pupils best and in providing PEF for two years, we are giving head teachers clarity to assist them in their short and longer term planning and decision making.”
Kenneth Gibson MSP added:
“The SNP Government has committed resources to PEF as part of the Scottish Attainment Challenge since 2017 and I am pleased that more than £22 million has been allocated to schools across North Ayrshire to help our pupils thrive.
“I know local schools are making good use of the funding and have reported good progress over the past few years towards improving learning and closing the poverty-related attainment gap, evidenced by improvements in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing."
Pupil Equity Funding forms part of the £750 million Attainment Scotland Fund being invested over the current Holyrood 2016-2021 Parliamentary term.
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